


What Happens on the Mountain

by TerminalMiraculosis



Series: Weblena Week (Sept 2020) [4]
Category: Celeste (Video Game), DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: @ the celeste fandom seeing this in the tag: sorry to flood you guys with yet another crossover, F/F, HDL still moved to the mansion and stuff but Lena never met them, This SHOULD make sense without having played celeste if I did it right, Weblena Week 2020, but obviously it'd probably be better if you're familiar with the narrative of the game, shadow war never happened either
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:15:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26497750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerminalMiraculosis/pseuds/TerminalMiraculosis
Summary: Did you know? It's impossible to outrun your own shadow.Lena decides to climb Celeste Mountain.
Relationships: Lena (Disney: DuckTales)/Webby Vanderquack
Series: Weblena Week (Sept 2020) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1922503
Comments: 7
Kudos: 32





	1. City & Site

**Author's Note:**

> Done for day four of [Weblena Week 2020](https://weblenaweek.tumblr.com/): AU! Posting the first chapter for the official day, but I plan to keep updating this until it's all out because I really like the AU.
> 
> I don't think you really need to know Celeste to understand this fic, but you should check it out anyway because it's the best game I've ever played in my life asdfasdhfsjdk

Lena slowed to a stop once the road came to an end, turning off the engine and stuffing her keys into her pocket. Then she thought better of it, and moved them to a secure pouch on her bag, zipping it tight. It would be  _ just _ her luck to have her car keys fall out of her pocket while climbing a mountain.

With a breath, she stepped out of her car, taking in the towering mountain in front of her. It looked just like the pictures; huge, whimsical, daunting, enticing. She fished the weathered old hotel pamphlet out of her glove compartment, uncrumpling it and rereading the blurb that had brought her here. 

_ Attractions of British Columbia _

_ Celeste Mountain _

_ Ever hear the tale of Celeste Mountain? They say that it offers a rare new perspective on life for those brave enough to climb it. The mountain is not a recommended climb for new mountain climbers due to several dangerous areas, but even if you’re not up for a hike, it’s a breathtaking sight, and many swear by its refreshing and healing properties! _

Lena looked back up, taking in the mountain once again. “Well,” she muttered, “what the hell.”

She tossed the pamphlet back into the glove box, shut the car door, and started walking.

* * *

A few minutes and one giant boulder nearly crushing her to death later, Lena came across a quaint log cabin before a long stone bridge. A purple hummingbird was seated in a rocking chair on the porch, beak buried in a book. Did she live on the mountain? What was she, some kind of park ranger? Sure didn’t look like one; she was, all things considered, kind of scrawny, and Lena couldn’t really see her climbing any sort of mountain.

Not that Lena was one to talk. She’d never climbed a mountain before, and she wasn’t the fittest person in the world herself. But she had other…  _ advantages _ that she imagined would more than make up for her lack of experience and muscle mass.

Lena cleared her throat. “Uh, hey. I’m Lena.”

“Hello,” the woman said in a monotone, without looking away from her book. “Violet.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Mmm.”

Lena shifted uncomfortably; she didn’t consider herself the best at small talk, but this ‘Violet’ was on a whole nother level, apparently. She decided to just get straight to the point. “This is the mountain trail, right? The sign back there is busted.”

“Technically, the mountain trail starts on the other side of the bridge,” Violet said. “Goes up through the abandoned city. But, effectively, yes.”

“There’s an abandoned city on the mountain?” Lena asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Indeed,” Violet said. “It’s largely comprised of scaffolding, with a few more complete structures. They were forced to give up on construction due to the dangers of the mountain not long after they began.”

Lena nodded. “I can see that. A big rock nearly crushed me to death when I was making my way over here. You, uh, might want to check that pass out for unstable boulders, by the way. Someone could get hurt.”

That finally got Violet to look away from her book, giving Lena a curious stare. “If my driveway almost did you in, then it might be best for you to turn around now. The mountain can be a dangerous place.”

“I’m sure if you can make it out here, I’ll be just fine,” Lena said, somewhat bitterly.

“Suit yourself,” Violet said with a shrug. “Just know that you might experience some strange things on your climb. Things that can change the way you view the world forever.”

Lena let out a sharp laugh. “Don’t worry yourself. I’m used to strange.”

“I’m sure,” Violet said evenly, before returning to her book.

Lena gave her one last glance before setting out across the bridge. Violet had been… interesting, but Lena supposed that was the kind of breed you got when you were this far away from any recognizable civilization. She looked to be about Lena’s age, too—what had gotten her living out here in the first place?

Lena didn’t have much time to ponder it further, however, because when she was about halfway across the bridge, it started collapsing.

“Shit,” Lena said, before taking off in a sprint. “Shit shit shit shit shit.”

She didn’t look back, but she could hear the stones crumbling behind her as she ran. She was close, though; she was going to make it. Just a little bit further and—

And then the stones under her feet broke, and she was falling. 

_ Stay calm, Lena, _ she told herself, looking up at the ledge that was rapidly growing farther away. A black crow was perched there, staring at her with beady eyes, fluffing its wings.  _ Stay calm, focus, and… _

There was a loud  _ pop _ and a flash of purple light, and then Lena was standing safely on the ledge. The crow let out a caw, flapping away in a panic. Lena turned to look over her shoulder, watching the remains of the bridge collapse into the canyon below.

She met eyes with Violet, who was staring at her with an unreadable expression.

“HEY, YOUR BRIDGE BROKE!” Lena called over the chasm.

“REALLY?” Violet shouted back. “I HADN’T NOTICED.” 

She returned to her book.

Lena huffed. Rude.

* * *

The trek through the city was rougher than Lena had expected, largely due to all the spikes everywhere that required some very careful footing. Seriously—talk about brutalist architecture. Eventually, she decided she had to take a break to let her magic recharge, so she retreated to a slightly less treacherous part of the city.

Suffice to say, she was surprised to see that someone had already set up camp there: a shorter duck dressed in practical, expensive-looking climbing gear that clashed somewhat comically with her pastel pink hair bow, seated in front of a crackling campfire.

“Oh!” she said once she noticed Lena. “Hi, I’m Webby! Are you climbing the mountain too? Isn’t this place beautiful? I didn’t think I’d meet any other climbers!”

“Uh, hey,” Lena said, a bit taken aback by her enthusiastic introduction. “I’m Lena. And, yeah, I’m climbing the mountain too.”

Webby smiled. “Nice to meet you, Lena!”

“Same,” Lena said.

“It’s so cool that they have this city here,” Webby went on, clearly enjoying having someone to talk to. “I don’t know why they abandoned it—I mean, who wouldn’t want to live up here? But at least we get to enjoy it now. The skeleton of civilization! I wonder if there are any ghosts around…”

“I’m pretty sure there aren’t any ghosts around,” Lena said. Ghosts were pretty rare, all things considered.

Webby was unfazed by Lena’s pessimism, however. “Well, we’ll just have to find out, huh? I can’t wait to see what else is on the mountain! This place really is magical, you know?”

“Maybe,” Lena said reservedly. “I haven’t seen anything magical yet, but there is an odd amount of mana in the air.”

Webby cocked her head. “Mana? What?”

Lena slapped her palm against her forehead. “Oh. Duh. You meant metaphorically.”

Webby’s eyes widened. “Wait, wait, you can sense  _ magic?” _

“Nevermind,” Lena said.

“No, I will mind!” Webby exclaimed. “That’s so cool! Are you magical? Are you a  _ sorceress?!” _

“Look, can we talk about something else?” Lena mumbled. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Oh, uh, sorry.” Webby looked away, a bit flushed. “I get carried away sometimes. You don’t, um, have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” She coughed. “So, are you going all the way to the top?”

Lena let out a breath. “Yeah. Dunno why, really, but I just, like. I don’t know. I’ve been in a bit of a rut lately. I guess I want to achieve something.”

“That’s a totally valid reason!” Webby said. “My Granny always said this mountain was a great place to go if you’re feeling stuck, or lost, or just want a new lease on life. She said it changed her forever.”

“Really? Well, that’s some endorsement,” Lena said. “Is that why you’re here?”

“I guess,” Webby said, shrugging. “I’m going to the summit, too, but it was kind of a spur of the moment decision. I was bored.”

Lena raised an eyebrow. “You decided to climb a dangerous mountain all on your own because you were bored? That’s kind of metal, Pink.”

Webby laughed a bit bashfully, fidgeting with a strand of hair. “Is it? I guess.”

“Are you, like, an adventurer or something?”

“Hm? Oh, no!” Webby laughed. “I wish. I work at a museum. History degree; you know how it is.”

“Huh.”

“I used to go on adventures a lot with my family,” Webby said, her face adopting a wistful sort of smile. “And I mean, I still do adventurey stuff sometimes. Like this! But it turns out it isn’t really as sustainable of a profession as certain ducks make it out to be. I’ve always enjoyed hiking though, ever since I started my survival training with Granny when I was a kid.”

Lena nodded slowly, trying to figure out if that was a normal childhood thing or not. “Uh, right. Survival training. I had some of that too.” She coughed. “Well, I should probably get back to it.”

“For sure! Don’t want to lose your climbing groove,” Webby said. “It was nice meeting you!”

“You too.” Lena gave her a parting wave, and set off once again.

She’d been nice, if a little forward, Lena thought as she continued her ascent through the city. But, honestly, that was probably for the best—Lena didn’t pride herself on her ability to carry a conversation, so she was glad when she met people who could do the heavy lifting for her on that front. Plus, she hadn’t seemed at all off put by Lena’s slip up about magic; the opposite, actually. Maybe she’d actually be cool with Lena’s whole… deal.

She quickly shook her head. No, no, don’t be stupid. She’s nice now, sure, but if she found out it’d be just like everyone else. Who wants to be friends with a shadow?

Lena’s mood took a downward spiral as she climbed her way out of the city, and by the time she reached a large monument dedicated to the hikers that had died on the climb just outside the city grounds, she wanted nothing more than to just sit down and fall asleep.

So she did.

* * *

_ Stars shot through the sky like tiny glowing bullets, illuminating the mountainside. Lena gazed out in wonder, stepping away from the monument and approaching a haunting old structure before her, built from ancient stone and crumbling in on itself. The air was alight with a chill and the tingle of magic, and as Lena entered into the ruins, her boots tapping against the stone, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched. _

_ Lena crept past fallen columns and collapsed arches, diving deeper and deeper into the old site until she found herself in a small room with a large mirror on the wall. She looked into the mirror, and her reflection looked back, and laughed. _

_ With a great shattering sound, the mirror broke, and Lena saw her shadow stretch forward, rising and taking shape. The doppelganger in front of her looked just like her, except the colors were all wrong, darkened and tinted with unsettling purples, and her hair dye was a sickening acid green. She stared at Lena with her eyes that weren’t her own, red and piercing, and Lena took a step back. _

_ “Who are you?” Lena asked. _

_ “I’m a Part of You,” said her shadow. Lena couldn’t help but notice the sharp fangs in her mouth. “And, let me tell you, it’s a relief to finally get out of that thing you call a head.” _

_ “Okay,” Lena said, narrowing her eyes. “Let’s say I believe that. What are you doing here, then? I’m pretty sure parts of people aren’t supposed to pop out of mirrors.” _

_ Her shadow sighed. “I’m worried about us, Lena. I know we want to shake things up a bit, but what are you even doing here? What’s the point? You’re only going to get yourself hurt.” It frowned. “You should turn back.” _

_ Lena scoffed. “I’ve been fine so far.” _

_ “It’s about to get a lot worse,” her shadow said darkly. “You can’t handle this, Lena. You’re not strong enough.” _

_ “How do you know?” Lena accused. “If you’re Part of Me, then how do you know what the rest of the mountain’s like?” _

_ “Ugh, I just  _ do, _ okay? It’s magic!” Her shadow let out a growl, clenching her jaw. “You’re such an idiot sometimes! Thinking you can climb mountains and shit! You need to stop being so cocky. You’re not as good as you think you are.” _

_ “What Part of Me even are you, anyway? The bitchy part?”  _

_ “The  _ realistic _ part!” her shadow hissed. “The part that isn’t caught up in some stupid fantasy!” _

_ Lena rolled her eyes. “I don’t have to listen to this. I’ve got a mountain to climb.” _

_ Her shadow snarled. “If you’re not going to listen to me, then I’ll  _ make _ you listen.” _

_ Lena barely had time to register what was happening before her shadow leapt at her, fangs bared. She stumbled out of the way and then concentrated her energy, teleporting back to the entrance to the ruins. She’d barely had a second to start running, however, before she heard a second  _ pop _ from behind her, and tossed a glance over her shoulder to see her shadow chasing her.  _

_ Lena quickened her pace, running towards the opposite side of the ruins, towards the mountain path. She focused a laser in her hand and blasted away the rubble blocking the exit, stumbling out into the snow. She kept running, not daring to look back until she finally came across an abandoned visitor’s outpost, with an old, ringing payphone out front. _

_ She paused for a second to catch her breath, looking around. No sign of her shadow for now. She wondered how long that would last. _

_ She picked up the phone. “Hello?” _

_ “Lena?” came the familiar, grating voice on the other end. “Are you calling me from a payphone?” _

_ “Yeah. Or—no, you called me,” Lena said. “Why would I call  _ you?”

_ “Because you need me,” she said, voice crackling through the line. “You need me right now, don’t you? That’s why you called. You got yourself into trouble again, didn’t you?” _

_ Lena bristled. “No, I—you always do this! Stop making it sound like it’s my fault! Someone’s chasing me!” _

_ “Why don’t you just run away? That seems to be all you’re good for, anyway,” the voice sneered. “Just threw everything I gave you back in my face and ran.” _

_ “You didn’t give me  _ anything _ worth saving! Getting away from you was the best decision I ever made,” Lena spat. “And I’m  _ not _ running away. I’m climbing this mountain, no matter what that stupid doppelganger says!” _

_ “Doppelganger? Lena, you’re sounding more idiotic than usual.” _

_ “She says she’s a Part of Me; she broke out of this mirror and possessed my shadow,” Lena explained. “Then she—oh. I’m dreaming, aren’t I?” _

_ “Of course you are,” she responded. “Do you think I’d  _ ever  _ want to talk to you again? All of this is as fake as you are. After all”—and here the voice took on a cold, vindictive tone—“you’re the one who’s just a shadow, Lena.” _

_ Lena felt something heavy settle in her stomach, and she let out a grunt of exasperation, slamming the phone back onto the receiver. “Ugh! Why am I even climbing this stupid mountain, anyway?!” _

_ “That’s what I’ve been wondering,” her shadow said, rising up from the ground with a smirk.  _

_ Lena’s eyes went wide, and before she could react, the payphone transformed into a horrid, disfigured monster that opened its jaws wide and swallowed her whole. _

* * *

Lena’s eyes snapped open—back at the monument. Just a dream. She let out a shaky breath, sitting up and rubbing her head. Just a dream.

The relief was hollow, though. She’d been through enough magic bullshit in her life to know that a dream like  _ that _ was hardly ever ‘just a dream.’ Violet had been right; this mountain was weird. She shrugged it off, though, picking up her bag and setting forward again. If anything, she was even more determined to climb this stupid mountain now, just to spite her dumb shadow-self. 

The old site was strikingly similar in real life to how it had been in her dream, though much easier to navigate this time. She hiked through it with little resistance, and was just about on the other side when a voice called out to her.

“Lena! Over here!”

Lena turned, and saw that Webby was a ways off, heading up in the same direction as her. She bounded over to Lena, all smiles.

“Hey, Webby. Nice to see you again,” she said. And she meant it; after that dream, she could use some company.

Webby beamed. “I know, right? This place is so beautiful, but it’s even  _ more _ beautiful when you can share its beautifulness with someone else!”

Lena looked back over her shoulder at the ruins. “Honestly, it just feels kind of creepy to me. Especially in the dark like this.”

“I don’t see any reason why it can’t be both,” Webby said, and Lena found herself nodding in agreement. “Hey, are you getting any data out here? I kind of want to make a phone call, but mine’s not getting anything.”

“Me neither, but there’s a payphone just up ahead,” Lena said, cocking her head forward.

“Really? Perfect!” Webby smiled. “Wait, how do you know?”

Lena frowned. “Um.”

“Oooooh, it’s your magic, isn’t it?” Webby said, eyes sparkling. “Spell of detect nearby payphones!”

“That’s not a thing,” Lena said flatly. “I just happened to spot it. I’ll take you there.”

“Thanks! You’re the best.”

Lena laughed, a bit cynically. “Yeah. Sure.”

She led the chattering Webby over to where the visitor’s outpost had been in her dream, and, sure enough, both it and the payphone were still there. 

“Oh!” Webby perked up, running over to the phone and slotting in some coins. “Thanks again, Lena!”

“Don’t mention it,” Lena said. “See you on the climb, I guess.”

“See you!” Webby called, waving her off with her free hand as she held the phone up to her ear. A few seconds later, she turned away slightly, her expression softening into something warm and fond. “Hey, Granny! Yeah, it’s going great…”

Lena left her to her conversation, and continued walking.


	2. Celestial Resort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena and Webby explore a run-down hotel on the mountain, and meet its eccentric manager.

There was a hotel on the mountain. Lena had initially regarded this as odd, then figured it was probably some niche vacation spot, or maybe a remnant from when the Forsaken City had not yet been so forsaken. Turned out, it was run-down and falling apart, which made a lot of sense—with a dangerous, spike-filled city below them, the trek up here was far too precarious for anyone but serious mountain climbers or cheating shadow-constructs to make their way up to the hotel in the first place. However, upon entering the building, Lena had realized three things in quick succession:

The hotel was, apparently, still running.

The hotel was run by a ghost.

The ghost who was, apparently, still running the hotel was  _ really annoying. _

“Miss Lena, are you  _ sure _ you don’t want to stay?” Oshiro pleaded, trailing behind her as Lena picked her way through the cluttered hallways. This ‘resort’ was a dump—she supposed that was to be expected when the only person running the place was  _ literally dead, _ but still, if he cared about getting guests so much he should really learn to clean up once in a while. 

“I  _ told _ you already,” Lena said. “I can’t stay. I’ve gotta keep moving or I’ll never reach the summit.” 

“I’ll give you twenty percent off!” Oshiro offered. “Thirty, even! A complimentary breakfast!”

Lena grimaced; she didn’t want to be anywhere  _ near _ whatever food this guy planned on cooking up. Hell, for all she knew, she was going to be the meal.

She was about to tell him, once again, to screw off when a fuzzy red thing with eyes skittered across the hallway. 

“Gah!” Lena shouted, a laser firing from her hand reflexively. It collided head-on with the…  _ thing,  _ causing it to explode, spraying bits of red fuzzy all over the floor. “What—what the hell was that?!”

Oshiro looked even more nervous than before, wringing his ghostly hands together. “Oh… Oh jeez… You’re not gonna want to stay here, are you?”

Lena could feel herself about to scream. “I already  _ told _ you, I—”

“Wait! Hold that thought, Miss Lena,” Oshiro said. “I have another guest I have to greet; my sincerest apologies. Don’t go anywhere!” 

He vanished with a  _ pop, _ and Lena instantly took off at a run. She had to find a way out of here before he got back. She blew through a locked door and then ran across a makeshift bridge made from suspicious floating books, suitcases, and blankets, and then arrived in the most cluttered room she had ever seen in her entire life.

She blew her hair out of her face, and unwillingly caused a cloud of dust to roll off of a nearby chair. “Ugh.”

* * *

Webby was having a great time. Who knew there was a hotel on the mountain? Sure, it was in a bit of a sorry state, but that just made it even more fun to explore. And while Mr. Oshiro was a bit strange, and didn’t seem to quite understand that Webby didn’t want to stay the night, she was  _ also _ pretty sure he might be a ghost, which was, like, super cool. She could forgive some eccentricities if it meant meeting a ghost.

Currently, she was volunteering to help clean up the big mess in the previous room, partly because Mr. Oshiro seemed like he could really use the help, and partly because the only door she could find was locked, and so she needed to either find a key or another way out. 

She leapt over a giant pile of the fuzzy red things—she was calling them ‘dust bunnies’ for now, because it was cute—and landed in what appeared to be a laundry room. And there on the far end of the room was none other than her faithful climbing companion, Lena! Who was… ripping a vent off of the wall.

“Lena?” Webby asked.

Lena shot a look over her shoulder. “Webby! I thought you might be that other guest ghost-dude was running off to greet. I’m glad you’re okay.”

“So he  _ is _ a ghost!” Webby said, pounding a fist into her palm triumphantly. “I knew it! And  _ you _ said there weren’t gonna be any!”

“Okay, I’ll admit I was dead wrong about that one,” Lena said. “But, look, this place is creepy as hell and these weird fuzzy monsters keep trying to bite off my ankles when I get too close. So I’m about to escape through this vent if you wanna come with.”

“Oh, sorry. I’d love to—really—but I promised Mr. Oshiro that I’d help clean up the hotel.”

Lena blinked at her, then made the sort of face that Dewey used to make whenever Webby mentioned she hadn’t seen whatever pop-culture craze of the hour he was talking about. “You promised  _ what?! _ Webby, that’s… very nice of you, I guess, but that guy’s bad news.”

“I feel bad for him!” Webby defended. “He’s got to run this hotel all by himself. It’s a big place! No wonder it’s in such a bad state. Also, he’s dead! That’s  _ gotta _ suck. I just want to do something nice for him is all.”

“Don’t tell me you promised to stay, too,” Lena said, rolling her eyes.

“No, I told him I had to keep climbing soon.” She paused. “But, um, he’s very insistent and I’m not sure he entirely got the message.”

“He’s manipulating you, Webby,” Lena said. “Ghosts, they… they have these  _ obsessions. _ It’s why they can’t move on where they’re supposed to. His seems to be running this hotel, and getting guests to stay. And trust me, you do  _ not _ want to get caught between a ghost and its obsession. Bad news.”

“That’s why I’m not staying!” Webby said. “I’ll clean up for him, and then I’m out.”

Lena sighed. “Promise?”

“Promise.” Webby smiled cheekily. “Say, why do  _ you _ care so much what I do?”

“I don’t know, I don’t want you to die? Is that so bad?”

“No, it’s kind of sweet, actually,” Webby said. “I hope you don’t die either.”

“Don’t plan to. Hence the vent.” Lena gestured down at her feet. “See you on the other side, Pink. Try not to get ghosted.”

“See you!” Webby called as Lena ducked down and crawled into the vent. She continued onwards, however, into the dust bunny-infested halls. “Pink…” she repeated to herself softly as she went. “I like that.”

* * *

Webby had just finished scaling the broken elevator chute, her grappling line clicking back into place in its launcher, when there was a great  _ crash _ from above her, and Lena fell out of a grate in the ceiling, landing disgracefully on the floorboards in a cloud of dust.

“Hi, Lena!” Webby chirped.

“…Hey,” Lena groaned, picking herself up and dusting herself off. “I think the vents were a bad idea. I’m gonna look for another way out.”

“Couldn’t you, uh…” Webby looked side to side conspiratorially, and lowered her voice.  _ “Magic _ your way out?”

“Not without blasting my way through, and I’m not sure the infrastructure of this place could take that,” Lena huffed. “It’s hard to actually teleport through walls and stuff. Lots more resistance.”

“Huh,” Webby said thoughtfully. “I didn’t know magic had so many… rules.”

“Trust me, you don’t  _ want _ to know,” Lena grumbled, rolling her eyes. Webby noticed her grab the purple amulet around her neck and stuff it under her jacket. “Magic’s more hassle than it’s worth.”

Webby decided to let the magic thing go—Lena obviously didn’t like talking about it—and turned forward, looking down the hallway. “Well… Mr. Oshiro would know a way out, right?”

Lena let out a long-suffering sigh. “I  _ guess. _ Are you still doing his chores for him?”

“Oh, I finished cleaning up,” Webby said. “He wants to show me the presidential suite now.”

Lena raised an eyebrow. “He’s still trying to get you to stay, isn’t he?”

“Yeah,” Webby said, turning her eyes down. “I feel bad; he’s so clearly desperate. But I can’t just stop here for a whole day.”

“Gotta put yourself first,” Lena said. “That dude’s problems are his own.”

“I know. I still feel bad, though.” She let out a breath. “We should get going.”

They set off through the rest of the hotel, carefully stepping around the dust bunnies. Eventually, they arrived at the top of an open room, rickety stairs descending downwards. Across the room, Mr. Oshiro was floating back and forth, mumbling frantically to himself under his breath.

“What’s he doing?” Webby asked.

Lena shrugged. “I don’t know, freaking out?”

And then all of a sudden, he began shaking violently, and hordes of dust bunnies began exploding out of him, clogging up the room.

“Oh my god!” Webby exclaimed, taking a step backwards.

“Ah! Miss Webby, is that you?” Mr. Oshiro called through the blockade. “Right this way now!”

“Um—you kind of blocked the way!” Webby called, but there was no response. She turned to Lena. “Those dust bunnies are coming from  _ him?” _

“They must be ectoplasmic constructs leaking out as he deteriorates,” Lena said. “He’s growing less stable by the minute. We really need to get out of here.”

“Right.” Webby hopped down to the floor of the room, staring up at the pulsating wall of dust bunnies. “How do we get through here?”

“Stand back,” Lena instructed, a purple glow emanating from beneath her jacket. Webby did, and a second later, several bright blasts of purple energy shot out from Lena’s hand, slamming into the dust bunnies. They swelled and exploded with bright popping sounds, and soon enough, the way was clear.

“Wow!” Webby said. “You really  _ are _ magic! Like, not that I didn’t believe you—of  _ course _ I believed you! It’s just different, you know, to see it like this, and—”

“Yeah yeah,” Lena said, walking off. “I know. Come on.”

“Um—right,” Webby agreed, hurrying up after her.

* * *

It didn’t take long for Lena and Webby to catch up with Mr. Oshiro. He was waiting in a rather large and well-furnished hotel room; it was the cleanest room Lena had seen so far, so she guessed that was something?

“Here we are: The Presidential Suite!” Oshiro announced. “Truly, it is the very definition of rustic luxury.”

Lena looked around the place with an unimpressed leer, her eyes sticking on the full-body mirror for a few seconds longer than she would’ve liked. “Right. Luxury.”

“O-oh! Miss Lena!” Oshiro said, finally noticing her. “You’ve, uh, decided to join us!”

“Yep,” Lena said flatly.

“It’s very nice, Mr. Oshiro,” Webby said. “I can certainly see why you’re so proud of it. But, ah—there! A window!” Lena watched as Webby pulled out her grappling hook, popping the window open and leaning out. “Now if I just… got it!”

With a  _ shwoop,  _ Webby’s grappling hook shot to the roof, latching on easily. 

“W-wait! Miss Webby! Are you sure you don’t want to stay?”

“Sorry, Mr. Oshiro! I’d love to, but I’ve got a  _ mountain _ to climb!” Webby flashed a confident smile. “Lena, are you coming?”

“I—” Lena stopped, catching movement in the corner of her eye. She swiveled around, only to find herself face to face with the mirror. Her reflection stared back at her, and if Lena didn’t know any better, she may have just mistaken it for a trick of the light. “I’ll be up in a sec, Pink.”

“Okay!” Webby said cheerily, beginning to scale the grappling line.

Lena continued to stare at the mirror, daring it to try something. The mirror stared back.

Oshiro cleared his throat. “Miss Lena! Surely  _ you _ would like to—”

“Not now,” Lena said darkly; miraculously, Oshiro shut up.

“Behind you,” said a voice that sounded almost like her own, but not quite.

Lena swirled around, and the Part of Her from her dream stepped out from where her shadow was strewn across the wall.

“Hey there,” Lena said, taking a step back. 

“Hey there,” Part of Her said, smiling knowingly. 

“What are you doing here?” Lena asked. That was always step one to dealing with evil spirits: find out what they wanted. Then, it was a matter of just making sure they didn’t get it.

“I was about to say the same thing,” the Part of Her said. “You say you want to climb a mountain, but you can’t even find your way out of this stupid resort. The window’s right there. Forget this loser.”

Oshiro swallowed nervously. “Um—it seems you have a friend, Miss Lena! Say, would  _ you _ be interested in—”

_ “NO!” _ the Part of Her shouted, turning on Oshiro. “Nobody wants to stay in this dump! It’s as dead as  _ you _ are. I should blast this whole place to ruins—it’d be a community service!” She spat onto the hardwood, rolling her eyes. “But it’s not worth the effort. And neither are you.”

Lena turned to her, eyes narrowed. “What are you doing?!”

Mr. Oshiro recoiled as if struck, eyes darting nervously about. “I—I-I think—I think I’m very busy,” he said, voice small. “Perhaps it’d be best for you to—to go, Miss Lena.”

“You heard him,  _ Miss Lena,” _ Part of Her mocked. “You’ve spent enough time screwing around in this place already. Go on and follow your little pink ‘friend.’ Heh—we’ll see how long  _ that _ lasts.” She reached up a hand and effortlessly blasted a hole in the roof. “There; that should be easier than the window, right? Honestly, where would you be without me.”

And then in a flash, she shot upwards through the roof. Lena creased her brow in thought; she turned to Oshiro, who was curled up on the ground, clutching his head and mumbling under his breath. Probably best to get out of here before he blew, she decided. 

Whatever that Part of Her was, she was trouble. Was there something in the Old Site that had summoned her? Was this what that girl Violet had been talking about? It must be, right? But she had too many questions and not enough answers right now. All she knew was that she needed to finish climbing this mountain.

With a quick teleport, Lena appeared on the roof, at the edge of the hole. The roof was just as much of a mess as the rest of the hotel, with snow drifts and rubble and garbage piling up so high she couldn’t even see the edge. To her surprise and disappointment, the Part of Her was still here, lounging lazily in the air.

“Finally,” she said, blowing her green-dyed bangs out of her face. “I thought we’d  _ never _ get rid of him. You owe me one—a lot, actually. I’ve been saving your ass for as long as I can remember.”

“Ugh, what’s your  _ deal?”  _ Lena seethed, taking an aggressive step towards her. “First you show up in my dream trying to keep me from climbing the mountain, then you appear just to verbally abuse an unstable lost soul? Are you trying to get me to stop climbing the mountain, or are you trying to get me  _ killed?” _

The Part of Her grinned, all fang. “Well,  _ someone _ had to say it. And if you can’t handle  _ him, _ then I’m right to think that you can’t handle the rest of the mountain. You can still turn around, you know. There’s no point to this—you’re only putting yourself in danger.”

“No,  _ you’re _ putting me in danger,” Lena argued. “I was doing just fine until you showed up!”

“Why do you even want to climb this mountain so badly, anyway?” Part of Her asked, tilting forward in the air.

“I don’t need a reason,” Lena said. “But pretty soon it’s going to be because I want to prove  _ you _ wrong. I can  _ do _ this, whether or not you try to get in my way by causing unstable ghosts to erupt.”

“That was just because he was being  _ insufferable,” _ Part of Her said with a roll of her eyes. “I don’t know why you were humoring him like that. You could’ve just blasted your way straight through the damn place!”

Lena frowned. “I’m not gonna blow up his hotel. I’m not a monster.”

“You keep telling yourself that,” Part of Her said, crossing her arms. “Whether or not you’re a monster isn’t something  _ you _ get to decide; that’s up to everyone else. We have the same memories, Lena. You know what people say when they see who you really are. Maybe you should stop putting on this act for all of them and finally show them how much of a monster you can  _ really _ be.”

“Okay, so you’re the evil part of me?” Lena asked. “Like, devil on the shoulder kind of deal?”

“No!” Part of Her shouted, clearly growing angry. “Ugh, you still don’t get it! I’m trying to  _ help _ us!”

“Well, you’re doing a shit job,” Lena said, turning around. “I’m gonna try catching up with Webby. She can’t be too far.”

“Ooo, that’s  _ another _ thing,” Part of Her hissed. “Whatever is happening there with you two—”

“What?” Lena’s eyebrows furrowed. “Nothing’s ‘happening’ with me and Webby.”

“Oh, come  _ on,  _ Lena! Who do you think you’re fooling? What do you think you’re  _ doing?  _ You know how this ends!”

“Oh my  _ god _ would you  _ leave me alone?!” _ Lena shouted. 

“Lena?” came a far-off call. “Is that you?”

“I’m afraid that’s my cue,” Part of Her said, crossing arms. “Looks like you got what you wanted.”

She vanished down into Lena’s shadow just as Webby bounded over from behind a pile of snow. “Lena! What took you so long?” she asked. 

“Oh, you know.” Lena waved a hand. “Magic stuff.”

Webby gasped excitedly, but before she could ask the follow up question Lena could so obviously tell she wanted to ask, Mr. Oshiro rose out of the presidential suite, looking pathetically at the two of them. 

“Hello,” he said dully. “I just wanted to ask, before you go… why would you be so nice to me, only to leave?”

“Um…” Webby looked awkwardly over to Lena, who could only offer up a shrug. “Granny always told me to be polite?”

“And—and you!” Oshiro accused, turning to Lena with a frown. “How could you say all those awful things about me? About the Celestial Resort?”

“What?” Lena grit her teeth. “No, that wasn’t  _ me, _ that was—”

“You’re just  _ toying _ with me, aren’t you?” Oshiro said. “You never really cared about my hotel at all!”

“I told you from the beginning that I couldn’t stay,” Webby said, sounding a bit frustrated. “You were the one who kept pushing!”

“Webby, we should go,” Lena said, reaching out and tugging on Webby’s arm. “He’s unstable, remember? Who knows when—”

_ “Unstable?!” _ Oshiro repeated, rising a bit up and forward in the air to loom over them. “Are you saying I’m not  _ fit _ to run my hotel?!”

“It  _ was _ a bit of a mess,” Webby said. “Maybe if you had a more rigorous cleaning schedule more people would—”

“NO!” Oshiro shouted, his voice dropping down into something dark and distorted. “You two only came here to  _ humiliate _ me!  _ I won’t grovel at your feet any longer!” _

And then, in a puff of white light, Mr. Oshiro grew into a monstrous being with a mouth full of long, sharp teeth that took up half of his now-humongous face, red eyes glowing down at them from above.

“Mr. Oshiro!” Webby shouted in distress, but Lena grabbed her and pulled her away, the two of them stumbling down the roof. “Wait, Lena, we have to help him!”

“We can’t,” Lena said. “He already died a long time ago. Lost souls like him, they—they’re dangerous. We have to—”

“LOOK OUT!” Webby called suddenly, grabbing Lena around the waist with one arm and reaching out with the other. A grappling hook shot out from the gun in her hand, wrapping around a loose beam in one of the nearby junk piles, and the two of them shot off the roof just as Mr. Oshiro came zooming by, his teeth inches below their feet.

“Nice save, Pink,” Lena mumbled.

“Okay, I’m totally with you now. We need to get away from him.” They touched down on top of a different part of the roof, Lena taking the landing a bit hard while Webby gracefully rolled out of the drop. “He’s fast, though. How do we shake him?”

“His obsession is the hotel,” Lena said. “If we can just get far enough away, he shouldn’t be able to—he’s coming back!”

They each dove to opposite sides as Oshiro charged at them, then picked themselves up to keep running, only for him to come through for another pass a few seconds later. There was a sort of rhythm to it, Lena found: run, run, dodge. Run, run, dodge.

This went on for a while before they finally reached the edge of the roof, the mountain trail stretching out in front of them, snowy, serene and beautiful.

“We’re here!” Webby said, approaching the edge. “Let me just rappel down—”

“No time!” Lena called, as Oshiro charged at them from above. Webby yelped and leapt out of the way, and Oshiro ended up crashing into the roof. Everything shuddered.

“We’re on an overhang!” Webby said, eyes wide as she looked down over the edge. “No support! It’s going to col—”

She was poetically cut off by the sound of the roof collapsing, the two of them sent tumbling downwards through the air. Lena resisted the urge to scream, instead letting out a slow breath as she focused on charging up her magic. With two flashes of magic, she made herself and Webby vanish, reappearing safely on the ground.

“Woah!” Webby said, clutching at her head and falling backwards into the snow. “Was that teleporting?”

“Yeah. Sorry.” Lena offered her a hand, pulling her up. “It can be a bit trippy the first couple times.”

“No no no, don’t be sorry! I just  _ teleported! _ That’s been on my bucket list for, like, years!”

Lena laughed. “I like you, Pink.”

“I like you too,” Webby said with a smile, and Lena’s core pulsed in a warm, comforting way that she pretended to not notice.

When Oshiro reappeared, he was back in his previous form, wringing his hands nervously. “I’ve decided to close the hotel for repairs,” he said meekly. “The second floor plumbing is leaking… the library is in complete disarray… not to mention the hole in the ceiling of the presidential suite.” He let out a sigh. “Please, just leave me alone.”

And then, like nothing had happened, he floated back into the hotel, Lena and Webby staring after him as he left, and then staring at the barren wall for a few seconds longer once he was gone.

“Well! That was fun,” Webby said, turning around and pulling her map out from her bag. “Looks like the Golden Ridge is up next!”

“You don’t want to talk about getting nearly killed by a ghost a minute ago?”

Webby shrugged. “Honestly, it doesn’t scratch the top five weirdest things that've happened to me. Did you want to talk about it?”

“I mean, not really.”

“Cool!” Webby smiled up at her. “So, I was thinking: how about a race? It says there’s a gondola at the end of the ridge, so we should probably take it together to avoid stranding each other. But whoever gets to it first wins! How about it?”

Lena returned her smile. “You know what? Sounds fun. You’re on.”

“Yes!” Webby cheered, thrusting her hands in the air. “Race starts now see you later byeeee!”

She took off at a sprint, firing her grappling gun up a nearby cliff face and zipping upwards. As Lena watched her run off, she couldn’t figure out if this mountain climbing thing was going terribly or terrifically. Either way, it  _ definitely _ wasn’t as boring as she’d feared it might be. 

She supposed that was for the best. With a burst of magic, she teleported up after Webby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Thanks for reading!
> 
> I'm glad to get back to this story; it's a pet project of mine that I'm really enjoying. Originally, this chapter was going to cover both the resort and the ridge, but it got too long, so from here on out I'm just gonna make each chapter in the game its own chapter in the story. Ridge should be out before toooo much longer, but who knows, I'm not really working on a schedule here.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you want, you can find me over at tumblr at [webby-vanderslap](https://webby-vanderslap.tumblr.com/). Also, if you want more Celeste, I wrote a separate fic for it a while back which you can read [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22352536)!


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